Liverpool could be open to the possibility of selling Joel Matip in the summer transfer window, although they will not push him ‘towards the door’.
That’s according to James Pearce, who was fielding queries from readers in a matchday Q&A for The Athletic on Saturday.
The Cameroonian defender was linked with a potential £15m summer exit from Anfield last month (as per Football Insider), with his contract expiring in June 2024.
The journalist stated in relation to the 31-year-old (via The Athletic): ‘Matip and Jota have not been put up for sale. Matip is down to his final year this summer and if he wanted to leave and LFC got a suitable offer he could leave but he’s certainly not being pushed towards the door.’
READ MORE: (Video) Peter Crouch has Man Utd theory about Liverpool defeat against Bournemouth
From a financial perspective, it would appear sensible to consider cashing in on Matip if decent offers were to come Liverpool’s way, given his age, contract situation and sporadic involvement this season (just nine Premier League starts).
However, his value to the current Reds squad must not be dismissed. Virgil van Dijk has hailed the Cameroonian’s ‘quality’ in the past (as per LFC’s official website), while the 31-year-old compares very favourably among his positional peers.
As per FBref, the ex-Schalke 04 man ranks among the top 10% of centre-backs in Europe’s five main leagues for progressive carries, assists, touches in the attacking penalty area and non-penalty goals, among other metrics.
Liverpool’s apparent stance seems to be the right one – a decent offer could be worth considering, but by no means should they allow Matip to leave lightly.